Faculty of Business Environment and Society Essay - 8

Faculty of Business Environment and Society - Essay Example They need to meet and satisfy certain conditions, capabilities and qualities sufficiently in order to effectively manage culturally diverse human resources and agreeably, the international managers must be adaptable, open-minded, flexible and able to speak foreign languages. However, there are other critical strategies to consider and with acknowledgement that culture considerably impacts on organisations and employees, this paper will critically discuss the validity of the statement regarding international managers’ adaptability, flexibility, open-mindedness and proficiency in foreign languages. International assignments serve several purposes and the most significant ones include overseas business expansion, knowledge transfer and career development (Paauwe and Boselie 2010). International managers or expatriates are utilised by multinational corporations because of their expertise in critical areas of interest in global markets and corporate organisation as well as to oversee the entry process into new markets. While on international assignment, the international managers will be in charge of strategically significant tasks and act as the link between the subsidiary and headquarters. They will be involved in recruitment and selection; development and training; performance evaluation, remuneration and benefits; labour relations; developing competitive advantages; and, equally important, self-development (Montana and Bruce 2008). Although the roles of international managers can be generalised, different types of international managers can also be identified. One type will t ypically serve control and coordination roles and give less significance to issues related to personnel development. Another type will complement the coordination and control role by concentrating on the goals of personnel development, which usually include developing leadership competency, acquiring intercultural skills and building social